what to do if a person doesn't have the title?

[driftingrx5.7]

Ok here is the story! i have been hunting for a bike for a few weeks now. I finally found one and he agreed to my price! So i called him to find out when we wanted to meet up and all that good stuff. So i asked him if i could see the title first so i can make sure its not R title. He got a little quite for a sec and said "yeah about that, I don't have the title yet. i paid it off and they told me it will take 2 to 3 weeks for me to get the title." So he tells me that this week was week 3 and still nothing. So he tells me that there is a form that we have to fill out at the dmv which will direct the title to me. Does anyone know what the heck he is talking about?

[SovXietday]

Stay away from that ****. There are other bikes out there.

If he can produce the title, no problem. Otherwise, I wouldn't go around filling out forms and all that other ****.

[240sxDann]

agreed. eff it. let HIM deal with getting the title. continue your search. if he happens to come up with it in the meantime, awesome, if not, you saved yourself a whooooooole load of crap.

[ilovecoupes]

So, you bought it without a title?

how do you know it isn't stolen?

[driftingrx5.7]

yeah i dont know anything about buying a bike or car without a title i don't want to fill out an form or anything i just want the title. so upset about this i found a bunch of the same bike but everyone wants 8000 or 7600 i have 7200 and i am so mad that i can't get this one!! ANGERING

[ScoobyNubieToo!]

Why don't you see if the police will run a vin check to see if the bike has been reported stolen?

[driftingrx5.7]

i already got the carfax on it its not stolen he is the second owner of the bike. i just don't know how or what to do with this. i have never had a something like this happen before. Like what happens if you sell your car that you have a loan on and you have someone to buy the car off you and the bank still has the title. what do you do about that? don't you have to pay off the loan to get the title released to you?

[P_856]

yup you would have to pay off the bank 1st before you can get the title or work it out with the bank and get the payments transfered to you and get the title in your name

[driftingrx5.7]

well according to him he paid off the bike about a month ago and then when he called the bank they told him they sent the title to penn dot and now penn dot needs to send it to him. but he was told from the bank to call penn dot and i can fill out a form with him and have the title sent to me. that is what i never seen before!

[driftingrx5.7]

http://www.dmv.state.pa.us/pdotforms/mv_forms/mv-38o.pdf this is the form he told me we have to fill out

[TGilb2007]

Walk away. If you have $7,200 cash in hand, I am sure someone will take that.

[Nors]

i'd just wait until the title is in his hand. maybe give him a deposit (with a reciept!)
Posted via Mobile Device

[probevette]

Carfax blows for bikes. Its never updated or right. Running the vin at the dmv will help but it may be a stolen bike that was not reported. Trying to app for a title to a bike without one requires you and the dmv to contact the former legal owner. Then they can always fight the sale in court and win their bike back.


When I catch you on monday just remind me about this. I can give you any legal advice about motorcycle titles in PA you'll ever need.

[driftingrx5.7]

yeah i am just going to wait for a few days because its going to rain anyway so i will wait until friday to see if he gets the title! that the whole reason i am working there :D

[driftingrx5.7]

well i kept shopping and i found a bunch more of the bike i am looking for and NONE and i mean NONE of them have the titles. they all need to pay off a bank or something to get there loans. i have no clue what else to do! and all the dealers have an 05 for almost the same price as buying an 08! i want to shoot someone!!! i have the cash to buy it but i don't want to leave with no title!

[420sx]

I did this with my Integra. When I bought it, the previous owner still had a lease on it, so we couldnt swap the title. I gave him 50% of our agreed price, and he signed that form that youre talking about. When I recieved the title from Harrisburg, I sent him the remaining 50%.

[ndubz]

No title=No Sale. If u dont have the title, then u could get royaly ****ed by this guy if he's just hiding it from u. He could call it in stolen and probly could sue u amongst other things. remember possession is 9/10 of the law. Just dont do it bro.

[420sx]

If he signed the form to have the title forwarded to him, that shouldnt be a problem. He also wouldnt be leaving without a signed (and hopefully notarized) bill of sale. Its really not the complicated mess that everyone makes it out to be.

[gorabbit]

find a different car to buy

[malloyboy1]

the longest ive ever seen it take to get a title from a bank was like 16 days or if the bank is local you can go pick it up. ask him if his bank is in another continent............... its prolly stolen, stolen things take a while to get the titles, if ever

[4N2NR]

Banks don't send titles to the DOT. They have the title and are a leinholder on it. When the loan is paid the financial institution signs off on it releasing the lein and sends the title to the owner that is listed on it. Usually it is within two weeks of receiving the final payment. I have had a credit union forget to send me one recently for a paid off vehicle and it sat in their file for four months. But as soon as I contacted them they released it and I had the title in hand in about six days (from TX to PA). If he has truly paid off his loan then wait patiently for him to get the title and do the deal for an agreed upon price after he has the title in hand. While he is waiting for the title keep looking. You may find a better deal or he may do something that devalues the vehicle (like it falls over and breaks something). Don't commit to a final sale price until he has everything to transfer ownership to you. If he is that interested in selling it to you he will make every effort to get the title. I am sure you know but make sure the VIN matches, that there are no lien holders on it that haven't released their claim, and that everyone listed as the owner(s) is available to sign off on the transfer. A PA to PA resident transfer usually requires both seller(s) and buyer(s) to be present at the same time to notorize signatures since there is only one notary block on the back for that. If I remember correctly there is also a block on the bottom of the front side of a PA title where the buyer's signature needs to be notorized too. There are ways to transfer ownership without a title but it is time consuming and a pain in the butt. You can go that route but do it at either a PennDot or Tag and Title office so that the all the correct forms can be executed at once. If the vehicle has an out of state title that may be a little more difficult - I don't know for sure.

[OutToWinPAHC]

You can only apply for a lost title if you were the last titled owner. Dont mess with that form.

[cinder4066]

find something else